the week of july 12-18, 2024
estonian clowns, american psychos, zac efron
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Graphic Design: Elizabeth Morton | Editorial Support: Ryan Adelsheim
world premieres
Phillip Howze’s Six Characters starts previews July 13th at LCT3. The new drama about “power, belonging, and the institutions we build” is directed by Dustin Wills.
Larry Muhammad’s Who Killed Alberta Jones? runs July 13th at Alberta O. Jones Park in partnership with Redline Performing Arts, Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Parks Alliance of Louisville. LaShondra Hood directs the gripping drama about “the first Black woman to pass the bar in Kentucky, the attorney who negotiated Muhammad Ali's first boxing contract, and Louisville’s first woman prosecutor whose 1965 unsolved murder still haunts the city.”
Token Theatre’s production of David Rhee and Wai Yim’s Zac Efron is now playing through July 21st at A Red Orchid in Chicago. Alan Muraoka directs the comedy about “two gay Asian Americans looking for love and radical self-acceptance through YouTube, Tarot readings, and of course, one of America's favorite sweethearts, Zac Efron.”
productions
Eliana Pipes’ Hoops runs July 12 - August 11 at Company One in Boston. Tonasia Jones directs and afrikah selah dramaturgs the “vibrant and playful choreopoem-esque collage of self-adornment and heritage.”
Julia Masli’s ha ha ha ha ha ha ha runs July 16 - August 4 at Woolly Mammoth in DC. The Estonian clown’s absurdist problem-solving show is co-directed by Masli and Kim Noble.
Henry Hoke’s Open Throat runs through July 14th at Little Island in NYC. Caitlin Ryan O'Connell directs the adaptation of Hoke’s novella about a “queer mountain lion living in the hills around the Hollywood sign [that is] driven out of nature by manmade catastrophe and into the wilds of LA.”
CAROL Performance Group’s Disaster Theater runs July 18 - August 3 at The Brick in NYC. Directed by Mike Steele and Skye Fort, the “intricate performance collage repurposes pop culture disaster tropes to confront an endless cycle of catastrophe.”
Duncan Sheik and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s American Psycho is now playing through July 21st at Monumental Theatre Company in Alexandria, VA. Michael Windsor directs the musical adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel about a Huey Lewis-loving, status-obsessed, mass-murdering finance bro whose mask of sanity is starting to slip. (The production’s costumes are by Elizabeth Morton, the very talented DC-based interdisciplinary designer who created Nothing for the Group’s logo!)
summer festivals
The O’Neill Playwrights and Music Theatre Conferences continue through July 27th in Waterford, CT. This week’s public readings include Marvin Gonzàlez De León’s Madre De Dios (directed by Laurie Woolery and dramaturged by victor cervantes jr, July 11 & 13), Emma Horwitz’s Bogdonoff (directed by Sarah Blush and dramaturged by Ryan Adelsheim, July 12 & 14), and Tasha Gordon-Solmon & Faye Chiao’s musical Fountain of You (July 13, 17 & 19).
Benjamin Benne’s at the very bottom of a body of water will have a reading on July 12th at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Cat Rodríguez directs the new play following “Marina, whose life has a circular routine which, when broken by the disappearance of her fishmonger, sets her off on a surreal quest to confront the grief that’s been holding her captive for years.”
The Capital Fringe Festival runs July 12 - 23 in various locations across DC. The line-up of sketch comedy, dance, storytelling, and theatre works — with 83% of the projects from local artists — includes Sam Yakura’s The Perfect Immigrant (directed by Charlotte La Nasa), JJ Johnson’s Wannabe (directed by Reginald Richard), Elizabeth Cutler’s Next Level (directed by Isabelle Solomon), Caitlin Frazier’s Re: Writing (directed by Olivia Martin), Luigi Laraia’s This is my sister (directed by Sean Gabbert), Songs of the Goat’s abridged adaptation of Ben Power’s Medea (directed by Michael Chamberlin), and John Harney’s Love West of Dupont Circle (directed by Trenor Gould).
2024-25 season updates
Theater Mu announced its 2024-25 season. The Minneapolis company will produce two world premieres — Ankita Raturi’s Fifty Boxes of Earth (directed by kt shorb) and Katie Hae Leo’s When You Trap a Tiger (directed by Emma Y. Lai) — plus Diana Son’s Stop Kiss, Adil Mansoor’s Amm(i)gone (co-directed by Lyam B. Gabel & Mansoor, co-presented with the Jungle Theater), and The New Eyes Festival.
The New Group announced its upcoming season. The line-up includes Jessica Goldberg’s Babe (directed by Scott Elliott), Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class (directed by Elliott), Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley’s musical The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse (directed by and developed with Rory Pelsue), and the world premiere of Nazareth Hassan’s Bowl EP (co-pro with Vineyard Theatre and National Black Theatre).
assorted
The Mammoth Retrograde Market will take place on July 13th from 11am - 3pm at Woolly Mammoth. The event, co-hosted with Jungli Vintage, will feature local DC-area artisans and vendors curating their collections around the theme “all things summer throwback.”
PlayPenn in Philadelphia is now accepting applications through July 31st for its Playwrights Cohort. The “free, year-long program for emerging playwrights, created to empower writers to navigate the industry as capable business entrepreneurs” is open to playwrights born/raised, educated or who live/have lived in the Mid-Atlantic Region. (The application portal may close once it hits 100 submissions, so get on it if you’re interested.)